Families Across Borders | law, policy, news and views
State Department Seeks Mediation Organizations for Cross-Border Family Disputes
The Office of Children’s Issues in the State Department has issued a request for statements of interest from organizations that would be willing to operate a mediation referral program for cross-border family disputes following the “Malta Mediation Principles” established by the Hague Conference. The State Department does not have funding to support this project, but it can [...]
Special Commission Scheduled: Child Abduction and Child Protection Conventions
The Hague Conference on Private International Law has tentatively scheduled meeting dates for the Sixth Special Commission to review the practical operation of the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Protection of Children Convention. Part 1 of the meeting will take place from June 1-10, 2011, in The Hague, and Part 2 will take [...]
Investigating Adoptions in Vietnam
Looking behind the current U.S. moratorium on adoption from Vietnam, Foreign Policy has published Anatomy of an Adoption Crisis by E.J. Graff, describing her investigation into why U.S.officials decided there was no alternative to suspending adoptions from Vietnam. The report was based on documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, which are now posted on [...]
Oral Argument in Flores-Villar
The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in Flores-Villar v. United States, a case that considers the citizenship rights of children born overseas with one U.S.-citizen parent. Under the current statutes, when the U.S.-citizen parent is the child’s father, that parent must have been physically present in the United States for at least five years prior [...]
